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0. W. BARTLETT. Reed-Organ.

No. 227,343. Patented May 11, I880.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OGTAVE W. BARTLETT, ()F BRATTLEBOROUGH, VERMONT.

REED-ORGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,343, dated May 11,1880.

Application filed October 29, 187.).

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OOTAVE \V. BARTLETT, of Brattleborough, county ofWindham, and State of Vermont, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Reed-Organs, which improvements are fully set forth in the .anneXedspecification and in the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to provide a more simple and inexpensivemanner of constructin g reed-organs than has heretofore been practiced;and it consists in constructing the reed-board and key-board of onepiece only; in forming in the interior of said one piece the requisitegeneral air-supply passages, reedchambers, and air-exit passages; ofkeys arranged to operate by gravitation to cover the air-exit openingsover the reeds; and, generally, of a construction adapting said organ tobe supplied with wind produced from a bellows in the ordinary way or byblowing with the mouth.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an isometrical view of myimproved organ. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view over the reeds. Fig. 3is a sectional plan view, showing the air passages in the reed-board.Fig. at is an end view of the reed-board with its outer cover removed,and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the keys.

In the drawings, A is the reed and key board. b b b are side pieces andan end piece. 0 represents a music-rack. d are keys. 0 e are weights inkeys (I. t' 2' are steady-pins. h is an air-conductor, having amouth-piece, h, secured to the end of it. h is a connecting-tube betweenconductor h and the reedboard. .9 is the main air-passage in thereedboard. 8 are reed-chambers. s are the reeds.

Heretofore it has been the practice to construct instruments of thisclass with reedboards arranged to have valves operating within a chamberor inclosed in a wind-chest, and having the reeds located outside of thechest and over the said valves.

Such a construction as the above necessarily involves considerableexpense to make a windchest that will be tight, and to arrange thevalves to work properly therein as well as to construct properkey-connections for them outside of the chest.

In view of the com parati vel y expensive construction of reed-organs,as above set forth, and the demand for instruments less costly and moreeasily kept in repair and in tune, my improved construction, ashereinafter set forth, offers many advantages.

1 construct the reed-board and key-board A for my organ of one pieceonly, as follows: The reed and key board A extends from the front to therear of the instrument, and its rear edge is made of sui'licientthickness to permit of forming within it and between its outer surfacesthe requisite air-passages and reedchambers s s, by boring or cuttinginto it, as shown.

I bore into the end of the reed-board, as

shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to form the reed-chambers, and transverselyacross the board under said chambers, but cutting into their undersides, so that air entering into the transverse passage 8 may freelyfind an exit upward into said chambers s. From the upper side of theboard A, I bore air-passages, as shown in Fig. 4, down to intersect withthe top side of the reedchambers, said air-passages being arranged in aline, as shown.

Having formed the air-passages in board A, as described, I insert thereeds into the reedehambers about midway between their upper and undersides, as shown in Fig. 4, so that they lie side by side therein,separated by the partition left between the chambers by boring them, asdescribed. Said reeds are set in blocks, preferably with double-bevelededges, as shown in Fig. 4, and said blocks are a little wider than thediameter of the reed-chambers, so that when forced into the latter theiredges enter the wood sufficiently to make an airtight joint on eachside, and they set closely against the inner end of the chamber, andprevent the air passing at that point. Thus arranged, there is formed,substantially, a wind-chest under the reeds, consisting of the passagess and s, from which, after the end piece, I), has been secured thereon,closing the outer ends of chambers 8, there is no escape for the airentering by tube h excepting up through the reeds 8 Having constructedthe reed-board and inserted the reeds, as above described, I insert thevertical steady-pins t t near its rear edge,

, and back of the vertical air-passages over the reeds, and pivot-pinsfor the keys (I, at w, thereon, in the usual manner, and arrange theusual felt-bearings under the keys, as shown. This completes theconstruction of the reed and key board, making it ready for the keys.

My keys are constructed as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, and arranged tooscillate upon proper pivot-bearin gs at 00 on the key-board.

In the rear end of said keys I insert weights of lead or other heavysubstance 0 c, and under said weights, upon the under side of the key, Ifix a pad of soft material, 2, and cut a slot in the end, as seen inFig. l.

The piece 0 is fixed across the keys to serve as a music-rack and tokeep the keys against the key-board.

After having constructed and arranged the reed and key board as aboveset forth, the end piece, I), and the side pieces, 1), are secured uponthree sides of board A, and the keys (I are placed, as shown in Fig. 1,with their slotted ends over the pins i i, and with the padded portionof the key under weights 0 a, lying upon and covering the verticalwindpassages over the reeds, so that no air can escape therefromexcepting when the key is opened by pressingupon its front end inplaying upon the instrument.

1 next insert tube 71. through the edge of board A into passage s, andto said tube I eonnecta flexible tube, h, provided with a mouthpiece,It.

My organs may have applied to them, located thereunder in the usualmanner, a footbellows of ordinary construction properly connected withthe main air-passage s; or, when the instrument is of small size, it maybe conveniently operated and supplied with air by blowing with the mouththrough the mouthpiece 71/.

The application of the weights 6 c to keys d over the airpassages abovethe reeds provides such a degree of gravity-pressure against thepneumatic pressurein the reed-chambers as is in excess of the latter,and provides such a counter-balance for the key as results in producingan action much more agreeable than one in which the counter action ofthe key is produced by a spring; besides, the gravity action is muchmore uniform, and, in fact, unvariable, while a spring acts quiteotherwise.

When found desirable, the metallic tube h may be made of such a lengthas to provide such an amount of comlensing-surface as may be requisiteto cool the air when blown from the mouth and prevent any accumulationof dampness upon the reeds, which might otherwise result from thecontact of warm air with them.

What I claim as my invention is 1. The reed-board of a reed-organ,constructed from a single piece of material and having the air-passagesand the reed-chambers excavated therein, substantially as set forth.

2. The reed-board A, having formed therein the air-passage s, thereed-chambers s, and air-exit passages over the reeds, as shown, incombination with the keys (1, arranged to close by gravity-pressure saidexit-passages, sub stantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The reed and keyboard A, constructed as shown, and provided with thevertical steady pins '5, in combination with the keys (I, slotted attheir rear ends and provided with the weights 0 0, located as shown,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination, the reed and key board A, the reeds 8 the keys (I,and the air-induction pipes h and It, all constructed and arrangedsubstantially as described and shown.

0. BARTLETT.

NVit-nesses F. P. LEONARD, WILLIAM S. NEWTON.

